Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device administration apparatus that administers via a network, use of devices such as image forming apparatuses, a device administration method, and a computer readable recording medium storing in itself a device administration program to make a computer execute processing.
Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
Conventionally, there exits a heretofore known device administration system in which a device administration apparatus connected to a network, easily administers via the network, use of devices such as image forming apparatuses also connected to the network.
In such a device administration system, for example, a device administration apparatus connected to a network collectively administers use of a plurality of image forming apparatuses also connected to the network, such as the number of printed sheets and users who used the image forming apparatuses.
In such a device administration system, another device that is an administration object sometimes happens to be additionally connected to the network. Alternatively, another administration apparatus sometimes happens to be additionally connected to the network, if the current device administration apparatus suffers from overloads due to increase of the devices that are administration objects.
In such a case, it is necessary to make the current administration apparatus recognize the additionally connected device as the device that are administration objects, or to make the additionally connected administration apparatus recognize the devices that are administration objects. However, a system administrator or etc. bothers to manually configure a certain setting in order to make a device administration apparatus recognize devices that are administration objects, which is inconvenient with this conventional device administration system.
Meanwhile, there is an art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. H07-334445, wherein an agent that administers/controls some of the administered objects existing within a network is provided in the network and those objects are hierarchically administered by this agent.
This art disclosed in the publication is only effective to hierarchically administer some of the administered objects existing within a network by an agent that administers/controls those objects. However, it is not effective to allow a system administrator or etc. to skip the troublesome operation to configure a certain setting in order to make a device administration apparatus recognize devices that are administration objects, when another device or another device administration apparatus is additionally connected to a network.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.